Information and Support for Customers Affected by California Wildfires and Planned Power Outages

November 01, 2019

We continue to support customers and communities in areas of California affected by active wildfires and power shut offs. We greatly appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding.

  • As a reminder, customers on Magenta, T-Mobile One, or Simple Choice plans always have unlimited talk, text, and smartphone data while on our network. Metro by T-Mobile customers also have unlimited talk and text on all plans.
  • T-Mobile customers who would like to donate $10 to the American Red Cross to support California Wildfire response and recovery efforts can text CAWILDFIRES to 90999. Message & data rates may apply. More information can be found at: http://mobilegiving.org/terms-and-conditions/


Update: 9:30am PST November 1st, 2019

Customer Relief Team Locations

  • 9am - 4PM PST Camarillo Community Center - 1605 Burnley St. Camarillo, CA 93010

 

Update: 9:30am PST October 31, 2019

Customer Relief Team Locations

Northern California
2pm – 5pm PST

  • Santa Rosa City School, 211 Ridgway Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95401


Southern California

  • 11am – 2pm PST - Patriot High School, 4355 Camino Real, Jurupa Valley, CA 92509


Update: 9:30am PST October 30, 2019

The active fire zones around the Kincade (North), Tick (South) and Getty Fires (LA) continue to have minimal impact on the T-Mobile network. This morning, the main area of impact for our customers as a result of power shut offs is around the Sebastopol area (Hwy 1 and Bodega Hwy West of Sebastopol) and along Highway 101 from Healdsburg to Ukiah and along SR20 north of Clearlake.

The fire departments in charge of these fire events are the best sources of the latest information:


Our relief teams are on the ground in 10 locations in Northern California and one in the LA area helping affected customers and residents with supplies including charging facilities, WiFi and some pet supplies.

Los Angeles
10am to 5pm PST October 30

  • Westwood Rec Center, 1350 Sepulveda Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025


Northern California
11am – 2pm PST October 30th

  • Petaluma Veterans Memorial Building, 1092 Petaluma Blvd S, Petaluma, 94952
  • Sonoma County Fair and Expo, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
  • Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building, 1351 Maple Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
  • New Life Fellowship, 1315 Rand St, Petaluma, CA 94952


3pm – 5pm PST October 30th

  • Petaluma Community Center, 320 N McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, CA 94954
  • Petaluma Valley Baptist Church, 580 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma, CA 94954
  • Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, 175 Fairgrounds Dr, Petaluma, CA 94952
  • Calvary Chapel of Petaluma, 1955 S McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, CA 94954
  • Napa Valley College. 2277 Napa Vallejo Hwy, Napa CA 94558

Update: 9:30am PST October 29, 2019

T-Mobile teams are stationed at various locations in northern California today providing customer and community relief and supplies including WiFi, charging facilities, water and other provisions.

11am – 2pm PST October 29

  • Petaluma Community Center, 320 N McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, CA 94954
  • Petaluma Veterans Memorial Building, 1092 Petaluma Blvd S, Petaluma, 94952
  • Sonoma County Fair and Expo, 1350 Bennett Valley Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
  • Petaluma Valley Baptist Church, 580 Sonoma Mountain Parkway, Petaluma, CA 94954

3pm – 5pm PST October 29

  • Santa Rosa Veterans Memorial Building, 1351 Maple Ave, Santa Rosa, CA 95404
  • Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds, 175 Fairgrounds Dr, Petaluma, CA 94952

 

Update: 4:00pm PST October 28, 2018

The T-Mobile customer and community relief truck has relocated to the Petaluma Community Center at 350 N. McDowell Blvd, Petaluma, CA 94954. It will be there until the end of day with a range of equipment including charging stations and charging supplies, as well as WiFi and water.

October 28, 2019

The power shut offs by PG&E in Northern California continue to affect a number of T-Mobile cell sites this morning. Our retail and engineering teams have worked over the weekend to minimize the impact of these as much as possible for our customers.

T-Mobile teams are also on the ground this morning mobilizing to help customers and the larger community who are affected by the current Tick and Kincade wildfires. We are doing the best we can to restore service and sincerely appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding.

This morning, customers may experience issues with their service in the following regions:

  • Sebastopol area
  • Oakland Hills
  • Orinda/Lafayette
  • Marin County
  • Along Highway 101 from Healdsburg north to Eureka and along SR20 north of Clear Lake


In order to maintain a level of outdoor coverage, T-Mobile teams deployed and re-fueled generators to more than 260 sites over the weekend. Many of these were pre-deployed ahead of Friday’s shutdown to help limit the impact on our customers and first responders. The number of deployed generators is expected to grow to around 400 with teams deploying as safety conditions allow.

In addition the engineering teams have and are continuing to configure sites in and around the impacted areas to boost signal to areas that may have lost coverage.

Please consider the following if you are experiencing issues with your T-Mobile service:

  • If you have a connection to the T-Mobile network, send a text instead of making a call. Text messages get through easier during times of congestion.
  • Try to keep calls to a minimum and as short as possible and limit your data usage. This helps reduce the load on our network so others can get through.


A range of temporary network coverage facilities, including wireless cells on wheels (COWs) and light trucks (COLTs) are arriving in key areas today.

Helping our Californian customers

T-Mobile is also offering credits for the small number of postpaid customers who are not already on an unlimited plan and exceed their calling/texting/data plan. Postpaid customers will receive the credits for any domestic usage overage via bill credit. (Note: This credit includes usage overage from domestic calls, text or data usage on a limited postpaid plan plus associated taxes. It does not apply to the regular monthly recurring charges, international dialing charges, roaming charges, down payments, deposits, and insurance features.)

In addition, for customers in areas affected by the power shut offs and wildfires, T-Mobile is holding suspensions for Metro by T-Mobile customers so they can continue to use their service if they are unable to make a payment for their monthly service, and T-Mobile is ensuring that prepaid customers can continue to use their service if they run out of balance.

A T-Mobile customer and community relief truck is at Petaluma Fairgrounds until 3pm Monday, October 28 with a range of much needed equipment including charging stations and charging supplies, as well as WiFi and water. The truck is located at 100 Fairgrounds Drive, Petaluma, CA 94952.

Further relief trucks will be deployed tomorrow, as conditions allow.

American Red Cross Text to Give

T-Mobile customers who would like to donate $10 to the American Red Cross to support disaster relief efforts across the United States can text REDCROSS to 90999. Message & data rates may apply. More information can be found at: http://mobilegiving.org/terms-and-conditions/

2019 California wildfire relief truck
2019 California wildfire support

October 27, 2019

As a result of power shut offs by PG&E in Northern California, a number of T-Mobile cell sites have lost power and some customers may experience issues with their service in the following regions:

  • Sebastopol area
  • Oakland Hills
  • Orinda/Lafayette
  • Marin County
  • Along Highway 101 from Healdsburg north to Eureka and along SR20 north of Clear Lake


There are also other scattered sites affected across the greater Sacramento, San Francisco and Bay Area region.

Our engineering teams are on the ground deploying additional generators and are keeping them re-fueled so we can do our best to keep customers connected. Given the current high demand for generators in California, T-Mobile is also shipping in generators from other states to help in our response.

We greatly appreciate our customers’ patience and understanding at this time.

As a reminder, customers on Magenta, T-Mobile One, or Simple Choice plans always have unlimited talk, text, and data. Metro by T-Mobile customers also have unlimited talk and text on all plans.

October 25, 2019

Our local teams continue to monitor the situation in California, including the current Tick Fire in Southern California, outside of Santa Clarita and the Kincade Fire in the Sonoma Valley, in Northern California. We are also monitoring potential planned power shut offs by local power companies.

For updates on the wildfires and emergency evacuations, please follow CAL Fire on their website and Twitter:

We’re focused on keeping employees safe and our team stands ready to respond to any service issues should they arise.

We will continue to evaluate ways to support our customers and the local community as the situation evolves.

For questions about your account or service, visit www.my.t-mobile.com or call 611 from your T-Mobile or Metro by T-Mobile handset.

As a reminder, customers on Magenta, T-Mobile One, or Simple Choice plans always have unlimited talk, text, and data. Metro by T-Mobile customers also have unlimited talk and text on all plans.

Updated October 24, 2019

San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) have also implemented public safety power shutoffs. More information is available here (https://www.sdge.com/wildfire-safety/public-safety-power-shutoffs) and we encourage customers to follow SDG&E on Twitter (https://twitter.com/SDGE) to stay up to date on the situation in their area.

October 22, 2019

PG&E and SCE has issued advisories that due to the potential impacts of wildfires, they may take steps to shut off power in areas of Northern and Southern California during the evening of Wednesday, October 23.

T-Mobile is monitoring the situation closely to do what we can to keep our customers connected and ensure our network remains up and running.

We have permanent generators in key cell sites to ensure they remain in service and other sites are prepared with battery backup. In preparation for this shut off, we have re-fueled generators in the area and pre-deployed a fleet of temporary generators that our emergency response teams can activate if needed.

We encourage customers to take a few quick steps now to prepare in advance of the shut offs:

  • Follow your local utility company on social media to stay up to date on the situation:
    o PG&E Twitter
    o SCE Twitter
  • Fully charge all your devices. Consider investing in a charging device like an external battery that doesn’t need a power outlet – and fully charge it as well.
  • In the event the T-Mobile network is unavailable and power is available to you at home, set up Wi-Fi Calling on your phone. For Apple phones, go to Settings > Phone > Wi-Fi Calling; and for Android phones, go to Settings > More Connection Settings > Wi-Fi Calling.

If you are a customer and need assistance with your account or service, please call 611 from your handset and we will be happy to help. If you are unable to reach us via your mobile but have access to another working phone landline, you can call 1-800-937-8997.

ARCHIVE - PREVIOUS EVENT

Update: October 9, 2019

The T-Mobile network is holding up well during the ongoing PG&E and SCE safety power shut offs in California. We are seeing a small number of sites down in some of the areas affected by the power shut off.

Our response teams are working to get sites back up and running as quickly as possible. We understand that service disruptions are an inconvenience to our customers and we appreciate their patience during this event.

As a reminder, customers on Magenta, T-Mobile One, or Simple Choice plans always have unlimited talk, text, and data. Metro by T-Mobile customers also have unlimited talk and text on all plans.

October 8th, 2019

PG&E and SCE have issued advisories that due to the potential impacts of wildfires, they may take steps to shut off power in areas of Northern and Southern California as early as the morning of October 9.

T-Mobile is working closely with PG&E and SCE to monitor the situation. Our priority is to keep our customers connected and ensure our network remains up and running. We have permanent generators in key cell sites to ensure they remain in service and other sites are prepared with battery backup. We also have a fleet of temporary generators that our emergency response teams can deploy if needed.

We encourage customers to take a few quick steps now to prepare in advance of the shut offs:

  • Follow PG&E and SCE on social media to stay up to date on the situation:
    PG&E Twitter 
    SCE Twitter
  • Fully charge all your devices. Consider investing in a charging device like an external battery that doesn’t need a power outlet – and fully charge it as well.
  • In the event the T-Mobile network is unavailable and power is available to you at home, set up Wi-Fi Calling on your phone. For Apple phones, go to Settings > Phone > Wi-Fi Calling; and for Android phones, go to Settings > More Connection Settings > Wi-Fi Calling.

It is possible that some T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile stores may be closed during the shut offs. If you are a customer and need assistance with your account or service, please call 611 from your handset and we will be happy to help.  If you are unable to reach us via your mobile but have access to another working phone landline, you can call 1-800-937-8997.

 

 

During congestion, the small fraction of T-Mobile customers using >50GB/mo. may notice reduced speeds until next bill cycle due to data prioritization. Metro customers using >35 GB/mo. may notice reduced speeds and Metro customers may notice reduced speeds vs. T-Mobile due to prioritization.